A fun day out
by ginnys01
Summary: Bellatrix has a day out.


**AN: one shot written for the QLFC week 7**

**Position prompt: Beater 1: Department of Magical Games and Sports: Write about someone having fun**

**Additional prompts used:**

**Prompt 5: (setting) Knockturn Alley**

**Prompt 9: (dialogue) "I love it when someone insults me. It means I don't have to be nice anymore."**

**Thanks to my fellow Puddlemere united team members falling winter roses, The Dark Enchantress Ruhi and JBrocks917 for beta-ing.**

* * *

The sun, high in the sky, was shining bright and warm. It was, in fact, a very nice day to spend in Diagon Alley. The street was buzzing with chatter, as people of all ages were out enjoying the day. Some were walking at a leisurely pace, window shopping; others were walking fast with a specific destination in mind. The seating area outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was full, every seat taken by someone enjoying an ice cream on the rare warm day in England. The sound of laughter rang through the alleyways. No matter who you asked, they all would have said it was a perfect day. A day on which nothing bad could happen.

A 17-year-old girl was walking down the street, passing each shop in turn. There was nothing wrong with that, except if you watched her closely, you would have seen that she wasn't stopping anywhere to look or shop. You could tell that she was a Pureblood just by looking at her—one that had grown up learning all the rules of the Pureblood aristocracy. Her face did not display any emotion except for a tiny smile on her face. Not enough to encourage people to talk, but enough for people to think she was happy—the exact expression she had been taught to show.

She didn't seem to be hurrying as if she was meeting someone, but she wasn't browsing either. It was as if she was just out for a walk. And this was what would strike one as strange. Purebloods, at least the ones who liked to show off that they were Pureblood, didn't just wander around in Diagon Alley for a walk. Purebloods travelled using the quickest methods available to them—Floo or Apparition. To witness the strangest part of this scenario, however, you would have to follow her all the way to the end of Diagon Alley and see her walk into Knockturn Alley. If you looked away sooner, you wouldn't have noticed. In fact, no one did. Nobody noticed the well-known Pureblood as she turned around the corner and entered Knockturn Alley.

*hphphp*

The atmosphere in Muggle London, on the other side of The Leaky Cauldron, was just as gloomy and depressing as it had been cheerful and happy in Diagon Alley.

"Mary, Mary!"

The panic in the street was palpable once you entered it.

"Have you seen this girl?"

As was the agony of the frantic parents.

"Please, she's only eleven," their voices quivered.

Strangers stopped to help.

"She's wearing a flowery dress," they pleaded.

Seconds became minutes and minutes became hours, but still, the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Mary! Mary!" they screamed, again and again, their voices laced with desperation and hysteria.

"She has blond hair…"

"She's wearing a blue bow in her hair."

More information about the girl was given every second that passed.

"Please! Help us! Our little girl... She's missing!" The parents cried, practically begging passers-by for help.

The police arrived, sirens shrieking through the crowd. More people started to help.

"Mary!"

**"Mary!"**

All through the streets surrounding The Leaky Cauldron, people could be heard calling the young girl's name. Some voices were clear, loud and nearby; others were quiet and distant.

_"Mary!"_

"Mary!"

The parents' voices were the loudest and the most panicked.

**_"Mary!"_**

*hphphp*

The atmosphere in Knockturn Alley was different from the one in Diagon Alley. It was quiet, almost eerily so. But if this affected the black-haired Pureblood, she didn't show it. She had been brought up better than that. 'Never show your emotions,' her mother had always told her.

Unlike in Diagon Alley, here, like everyone else, she walked with a purpose. Knockturn Alley wasn't a place for casual walking. It also wasn't a place for witches, even if Pureblood, so having a Pureblood witch walking through Knockturn Alley on her own was very unusual. If a Pureblood lady ever did enter Knockturn Alley, it was in the company of a male relative. It was no different for this Pureblood; she had been in the alley with her father before, but never alone. When her father had told her where she was supposed to meet Mr. Lestrange, she had been nervous.

If she hadn't been brought up in the manner that she had, she might have protested. She might have asked for an escort, but she couldn't. Her upbringing had taught her two things: Never show emotion and never protest an order. A lady has two purposes: marrying for the benefit of her birth family, and having children for the family she married into. The young Pureblood knew the rules. Though she didn't like them, she followed them perfectly. So, she didn't show that she was nervous, and she didn't show that she was scared. She walked with her head held high as if she belonged. As she walked past the first few houses in the alleyway, she wished she could Apparate, but unfortunately, you had to know where you were going to Apparate, and she hadn't been here before. It didn't take her long to arrive at her destination; the house she was going to was only a few houses down from the entrance to the alleyway. Even though the building wasn't a shop or cafe, the young girl walked in without pausing to knock. Her instructions were clear. She nodded at the people in the front room just as she had been taught, but continued on past the room, through the secret doorway, down the stairs, and knocked on the door in front of her.

*hphphp*

"Bellatrix! Welcome."

Bellatrix nodded, "Good morning, Mr. Lestrange."

She looked around the room. An eleven-year-old girl sat in the corner of the room, looking as if she wanted to disappear into the wall. She kept moving backwards until her back touched both walls, but unfortunately for her, there was nowhere for her to move to.

Bellatrix turned away from the eleven-year-old—the filth was beneath her. Or, at least, she assumed it was filth. She didn't have to wait long before her future father-in-law confirmed it.

"This filth thinks it's good enough to join our world, to go to Hogwarts. This Mudblood thought that today was a good day to shop for books, to learn more about our world. I think we should teach it our way."

Mudbloods had no place in their world, Bellatrix agreed. But what could she do? Bellatrix was just a girl. She had only just turned of age. When her father had called her into his office to let her know that Mr Lestrange wished to speak to her, her father had also warned her to be on her best Pureblood lady behaviour. After all, she was to be the future Mrs. Lestrange. Bellatrix wasn't sure why she was here. A Pureblood lady is seen, not heard. A Pureblood lady is responsible for children, preferably boys, but nothing more.

"I think it is time for you to prove how strong you really are, Bellatrix," Lestrange Sr said.

Bellatrix was shocked, but like the perfect Pureblood, she simply turned to look at him.

"What do you wish for me to do?" Bellatrix hated how meek she sounded. Lestrange Sr cackled. Bellatrix let her eyes dart towards the blonde girl in the corner. The girl had shrunk further into the corner; her eyes wide open.

"Why don't we start with a nice, easy spell. One that is taught to our first years. A spell that this filth would have learned in a few months if we hadn't intervened. I would say start with the Levitation charm, followed by the Scouring Charm."

Bellatrix was disappointed. The Levitation charm? The Scouring charm? Those spells weren't evil. They were simple stupid charms. But being a Pureblood lady, she did as she was told.

_"Wingardium Leviosa."_

The girl went flying into the air, screaming as she flew up. Once the girl had hit the ceiling of the room, Bellatrix let go. The girl dropped down to the floor, landing in a heap.

Bellatrix looked over at Lestrange Sr, who was nodding his head. "It looks quite filthy, doesn't it? Maybe a cleaning charm will help?"

Bellatrix wasn't sure how the scourgify would hurt, but still, she turned towards the girl on the floor, who hadn't moved.

_"Scourgify."_

The girl screamed. Bellatrix had learned the spell but had never used it. After all, cleaning was an elf's job. She guessed that the feeling of hard sponges scrubbing away at your skin would hurt.

"You see what's clever about those spells? They are simple but cause mass pain. They also won't alert anyone that anything is happening."

Lestrange Sr looked towards the Mudblood on the floor. "Pity it's still filthy. Perhaps just burn the filth?"

That was starting to sound more like it. Incendio was still only a second-year spell, but it was an improvement. Setting things on fire was always fun.

_"Incendio."_

The girl's clothes caught fire immediately. Once again, the girl let out a loud scream. Bellatrix started to laugh, but not a nice laugh, more of a cackle. She never knew that such simple spells could hurt someone so much. She loved it. The best part was the screaming; it gave her power. The Mudblood was hers.

_"Aguamenti."_

Bellatrix looked over at her future father-in-law. "If the spell stayed on any longer, the Mudblood would have died. Now it's still alive."

Bellatrix looked over the Mudblood. The girl was hardly recognisable, totally burned, and only just alive.

Before Bellatrix could inquire into the next part, a door opened behind her. Rodolphus walked in.

"What are you doing here?" Lestrange Sr asked, "I told you to leave us alone." Rodolphus nodded towards Bellatrix before he faced his father.

"Yes, Father. I simply wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else, and to tell you that Aurors have been spotted walking down the street. Word is, an eleven-year-old has gone missing and Aurors want to make sure she hasn't wandered into Knockturn Alley. I'm enforcing the secret door upstairs. If the Aurors enter the house, they will not find this door." His eyes flickered towards the girl, who had somehow assumed that he would help her.

"Pl-please, help me. She's crazy. Pl-please."

Rodolphus looked down at the girl, sneered and turned away.

As the door to the room closed Bellatrix cackled again, "I love it when someone insults me. It means I don't have to be nice anymore."

If possible, the girl's eyes widened even more—she was terrified. Bellatrix turned towards Lestrange Sr. with the hope of doing something even worse.

Lestrange Sr. must have seen something in her eyes as he asked: "How about we skip the easy spells and go straight for the best?"

When Bellatrix nodded, he continued, "Ever heard of the Cruciatus Curse? Ever, dare say, _performed_ it?"

Bellatrix had trouble hiding her excitement. _The Cruciatus Curse?_ She had heard of it, but never performed it. She had been told that only the most powerful could cast it.

Mr. Lestrange must have noticed her act was starting to slip, as he smiled and said, "Don't worry, dear. You don't have to act like a perfect Pureblood. Rodolphus needs an equal, not a show of wife. You seem to have all the qualities. You have the beauty but also, seemingly, the brains and the power. Now, the incantation is _Crucio_. You don't just say the word, you need to mean it. You need to really want to cause pain – to enjoy it.(1) I can tell you won't have any difficulty with that."

Bellatrix turned towards the filth on the floor; her future father-in-law was right, she wouldn't have difficulty with wanting to cause pain she loved it when the girl screamed.

It made her feel alive.

_"Crucio!"_

Bellatrix couldn't see Lestrange Sr's face, but if she had, she would have seen a face that was astonished and awestruck. The Mudblood was screaming so... _loudly_. The spell showed real power, power that Lestrange Sr hadn't expected. He hadn't expected her to cast such a strong spell, especially at her age. Bellatrix, unaware of the amazement of her future father-in-law, poured more power into the spell, more hatred. She _hated_ Mudbloods. They didn't belong in their world. When people said that love and hatred went together, they were right. The more hatred Bellatrix poured into the spell, the more she loved it. She hadn't had this much fun in ages, not since before her father had started teaching her what a proper Pureblood behaved like. It was amazing. She didn't want it to ever stop.

*hphphp*

"Ma'am, I think we've found her."

Police and ambulance sirens could be heard throughout Muggle London.

A group of people were gathered in a small side street. The street was nothing special, in fact, it was a very empty street which held just a few rubbish bins.

The group of onlookers grew with each second as more passers-by stopped to look.

"Let us through, that's my daughter!"

The street had never been so silent. Even the police sirens had stopped and the ambulance had left. As the bystanders parted for the parents, time seemed to slow down, sympathy rolling off of the people standing around.

The parents got the front just in time to see the police place a blanket over a small body. The relief and joy that the parents felt when they heard their little girl had been found, quickly disappeared. It was replaced by despair and disbelief; agony like nothing else. Who would do something like this?

Nobody noticed two people standing in the back corner of the alleyway, watching the commotion with smiles on their faces. The sadness and despair on the people's faces filled them with joy.

*hphphp*

The atmosphere in Diagon Alley hadn't changed. People were still smiling and laughing, unaware of what was happening on the other side of The Leaky Cauldron. Nobody noticed the black-haired beauty as she left Knockturn Alley and re-joined the happiness of Diagon Alley. There were two things slightly different about her. First, the smile on her face was slightly wider. Her afternoon had gone better than she had ever thought it would. The second was the boy next to her. The boy, who was also a Pureblood, was a year older than the girl and had just graduated from Hogwarts. The young couple may not have been in love, but as Purebloods were meant to, they radiated the look of the perfect couple.

The marriage might not have been what this girl wanted, but she knew what her duty was as a Pureblood witch. The fact that this arranged marriage might give her more options than she had first expected was a bonus. Her future father-in-law had opened a lot of doors for her.

And as a Black, she knew how to take advantage of that.

Yes, Bellatrix Black—soon to be Bellatrix Lestrange—had a great day. She never knew that torturing people, hearing them scream, hearing them beg, or even watching their family members lose hope, could be so… _exhilarating_. The day had been truly enjoyable for Bellatrix.

* * *

(1) Quote from Harry potter and the order of the phoenix; Bellatrix to Harry.


End file.
